The Church of Scientology has long been a controversial institution among both the religious community and entertainment business. But the latest documentary from Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney, “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” explores the secrets of the organization through interviews with former high-ranking officials and former members in a way never seen before. Based on the 2013 book of the same name by Lawrence Wright, “Going Clear“ not only exposes details about Scientology but also serves as an in-depth explainer for those unfamiliar with the group. The Church has spoken out against the film (read their full statement here) as have its celebrity members. But whether you’ve studied Scientology closely or merely know it as “the religion with Tom Cruise,” watching “Going Clear” is a powerful, stunning and emotionally overwhelming experience that will likely leave you with your mouth agape. Here are the most shocking allegations put forth in “Going Clear,” which made its HBO debut on Sunday night:

1. L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientology creation story
When Scientologists reach level OT III, they are shown the “secret materials,” as director and former member Paul Haggis described them: Hubbard’s hand-written account of the creation myth. According to this, 75 million years ago a galactic dictator named Xenu froze people and dropped their bodies into volcanoes. From there, the disembodied spirits, or thetans, apparently jumped into newborns bodies. According to Hubbard, these multiple thetans crowded in our bodies are the source of our anxieties and fears.

Beppe Grillo’s M5S is a Scientology-style cult

June 11, 2016

Tom Cruise is an exceptionally beautiful American man with an invincible smile, but he is a member of a cult called Scientology. Virginia Raggi is an exceptionally beautiful Italian woman with an invincible smile but she is a member of a cult called the MoVimento Cinque Stelle (M5S). I understand the attraction of cults in a world in which God has disappeared and our lives are so boringly bad and our political systems worse. But I have yet to come across a cult that does not engender disastrous mental problems. Last Sunday, the radiant Raggi, a 37-year-old lawyer with a small son and a big motorbike, easily won the most votes in the first round of the mayoral elections in Rome. She is expected to win the second ballot next Sunday. The only concrete policy she has been able or willing to reveal, as far as I can tell, is a desire to stamp out fare-dodging on buses. And people think poor Boris Johnson is a loser because he has no blueprint for Brexit. But who cares about the nitty-gritty of life on this earth? What counts — when it comes to cults at least — is faith.

‘It is only the first chapter,’ said Raggi, smiling invincibly at her press conference after the polls closed. ‘The wind is changing, gentlemen, the wind is changing.’ She made it seem, for a moment, as if Jesus himself was about to come to the Eternal City. The capital ‘V’ in the word MoVimento stands for Vaffa (Fuck off) — to everything, more or less, except wind farms. The experts define this ‘movement’ (the word ‘party’ is verboten) as ‘anti-establishment’ but nobody really knows what that means. One thing can be said: though neither left-nor right-wing, the movement draws its support from the left, by and large, just as Fascism — founded by the revolutionary socialist Benito Mussolini — did.

I held a senior management position in the Church of Scientology from 1982 until 2004. During the last several years I was the inspector general of Scientology and answered only to Scientology’s Chairman of the Board David Miscavige. During that time at the top I came to realize that Miscavige was progressively turning Scientology into a destructive cult. He began to spend most of his time courting and entertaining celebrities, most notably Tom Cruise. Miscavige used church staff, who were paid less than minimum wage, to customize Cruise’s home, motorcoach and motorcycles. Then Miscavige presented the lavish productions himself to Cruise as personal gifts.

As Miscavige became more drunk with the thrill of Hollywood life, he became more abusive toward church managers. In January 2004, Miscavige held more than 80 senior management personnel in a couple of double-wide trailers that had been converted into an office building. He instituted group confessions where senior managers were physically and verbally coerced into confessing to harboring disloyal thoughts about Miscavige. The managers were beaten, hazed, and degraded for up to 24 hours a day. This is what Katie Holmes is up against. This represents the mindset of the guy who Tom Cruise has publicly stated is his best friend — the guy who was best man at their wedding.

Carmen Llywelyn has launched a scathing attack on Scientology, branding the religion a “sinister cult” 13 years after leaving it. The Never Been Kissed actress was introduced to the church after moving to California and meeting the My Name is Earl star Jason Lee, who was already a member, aged 19. The couple married a year later in 1995 and divorced in 2001. Scientology counts John Travolta, Will Smith, Juliette Lewis and Tom Cruise among its many famous followers. It is founded on the work of sci-fi writer L Ron Hubbard, who wrote of an alien dictator who brought his people to earth 75 million years ago. Llywelyn discussed her experiences within the church in a lengthy essay for Gawker, writing:

“I’ve realised that the religion is built on a foundation of violence. […] I did what so many other people who join Scientology do: I lost all sense of individual identity in the name of the cult.”

Her article has been dismissed by the Church as “yet another shameless and transparent attempt” to draw media attention. The 41-year-old claimed to have spent up to $50,000 (£32,000) on books, courses and “auditing” during her time in the church and recalled a “class system” that gave celebrity followers special status.

For Louisa Hodkin and Alessandro Calcioli, the latest Supreme Court ruling had the most personal of repercussions. The five justices’ 84-point judgment was strewn with references to 19th-century parliamentary debates and semantic disputes, but their verdict on Wednesday afternoon was clear. The couple would now be free to marry in a Scientology chapel in London, surrounded by their families and the church’s volunteers. It was, Miss Hodkin said afterwards, a simple matter of “being treated equally”. Yet the ruling has implications for public life that extend far beyond the impending vows of the 25‑year-old Miss Hodkin and her fiancé. As reported in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph, it amounts to the first official recognition of Scientology as a religion. In doing so, it overturned not only last year’s decision against Miss Hodkin by the High Court but also a long‑established doctrine that a movement must worship a supreme deity to count as a religion. As far back as 1970, Lord Denning upheld a registrar’s refusal to register a chapel, insisting that within Scientology “there may be a belief in a spirit of man, but there is no belief in a spirit of God”.

It is a significant victory for a creed whose first church was established less than 60 years ago. Ever since L Ron Hubbard, the founder, first outlined his principles in 1950, Scientology has struggled to be accepted as a mainstream religion. Some have ridiculed its adherents, who believe that 13.5 trillion aliens were banished to Earth by a warlord called Xenu 75 million years ago. The church argues that these aliens’ souls, known as thetans, then latched on to humans, causing many of our emotional and social problems today.

The church has also defended itself against allegations made by former members that it has held people against their will and forced them to cut ties with their families. Despite such controversy, it survived Hubbard’s death in 1986, and his friend and successor, David Miscavige, now presides over 11,000 churches, missions and affiliated groups in 167 countries on every continent. Miscavige has won celebrity endorsements, most notably from Tom Cruise, the Hollywood actor.

I wanted to be Tom Cruise. As a fresh-faced, impressionable young 21-year-old, I watched Top Gun a dozen times at my local movie theater in London. Cruise WAS Maverick, his fighter pilot character in Top Gun, on and off screen: a handsome, smart, funny, charismatic daredevil who got all the girls. Today, he looks virtually the same as he did back in 1986, a veritable wonder of middle-aged vitality and good health, and still flashing that big cheeky grin. What is different, and shockingly so, is what we now know about his always mysterious personal life. And in particular, his relationship with an even more mysterious entity – the Church of Scientology. On Sunday, HBO aired a much-hyped documentary into the cult Church, called “Going Clear”. It was an astonishing, terrifying film; one which finally nailed many of the unpalatable truths about this deeply secretive and deeply unpleasant organization. The movie’s impact has raged through Hollywood like a tidal wave, mainly because one of its biggest targets is also one of the world’s biggest movie stars: Tom Cruise.

In some of the most damning allegations, “Going Clear” reveals how Cruise: 1) Allowed his children to be turned by Scientologists against his former wife Nicole Kidman in their bitter divorce and custody battle – through fears that she was a Suppressive Person, or ‘SP’ in Scientology speak. 2) Conspired with the Church to wire-tap Kidman’s phone as part of a deliberate effort by the Scientologists to break up the marriage. (Kidman had been further identified as a “PTS’, or ‘Potential Trouble Source’ because her father was a psychologist and the Church doesn’t like psychologists.) 3) Had Scientology employees work on his cars, motorcycles and living quarters at the Church’s various residences for slave labour rates of just 40 cents an hour. 4) Ignored myriad abuses, both physical and psychological, by the tax-exempt ‘non-profit’ Church – while at the same time accepting lavish gifts and honours from them.. 5) Has an unsettlingly close relationship with Scientology leader David Miscavige, a man portrayed by many ex members of the Church as a manipulative monster. In perhaps the most disturbing claim of all, the movie tells how the Church found Cruise a new girlfriend – a young Scientologist, Nazanin Boniadi.

On 19 August 2009, Tommy Davis, the chief spokesperson for the Church of Scientology International, received a letter from the film director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. “For 10 months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego,” Haggis wrote. Before the 2008 elections, a staff member at Scientology’s San Diego church had signed its name to an online petition supporting Proposition 8, which asserted that the state of California should sanction marriage only “between a man and a woman”. The proposition passed. As Haggis saw it, the San Diego church’s “public sponsorship of Proposition 8, which succeeded in taking away the civil rights of gay and lesbian citizens of California – rights that were granted them by the Supreme Court of our state – is a stain on the integrity of our organisation and a stain on us personally. Our public association with that hate-filled legislation shames us.” Haggis wrote, “Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent.” He concluded, “I hereby resign my membership in the Church of Scientology.”

Haggis was prominent in both Scientology and Hollywood, two communities that often converge. Although he is less famous than certain other Scientologists, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, he had been in the organisation for nearly 35 years. Haggis wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby, which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2004, and he wrote and directed Crash, which won Best Picture the next year. Davis, too, is part of Hollywood society: his mother is Anne Archer, who starred in Fatal Attraction and Patriot Games. In previous correspondence with Davis, Haggis had demanded that the church publicly renounce Proposition 8. “I feel strongly about this for a number of reasons,” he wrote. “You and I both know there has been a hidden anti-gay sentiment in the church for a long time. I have been shocked on too many occasions to hear Scientologists make derogatory remarks about gay people, and then quote LRH in their defence.” The initials stand for L Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, whose extensive writings and lectures form the church’s scripture. Haggis related a story about Katy, the youngest of three daughters from his first marriage, who lost the friendship of a fellow Scientologist after revealing that she was gay. The friend began warning others, “Katy is ‘1.1’.” The number refers to a sliding Tone Scale of emotional states that Hubbard published in a 1951 book, The Science Of Survival. A person classified “1.1” was, Hubbard said, “Covertly Hostile” – “the most dangerous and wicked level” – and he noted that people in this state engaged in such things as casual sex, sadism and homosexual activity. Hubbard’s Tone Scale, Haggis wrote, equated “homosexuality with being a pervert”. (Such remarks don’t appear in recent editions of the book.)

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Raised as Scientologists, Christie King Collbran and her husband, Chris, were recruited as teenagers to work for the elite corps of staff members who keep the Church of Scientology running, known as the Sea Organization, or Sea Org. They signed a contract for a billion years — in keeping with the church’s belief that Scientologists are immortal. They worked seven days a week, often on little sleep, for sporadic paychecks of $50 a week, at most. But after 13 years and growing disillusionment, the Collbrans decided to leave the Sea Org, setting off on a Kafkaesque journey that they said required them to sign false confessions about their personal lives and their work, pay the church thousands of dollars it said they owed for courses and counseling, and accept the consequences as their parents, siblings and friends who are church members cut off all communication with them.

“Why did we work so hard for this organization,” Ms. Collbran said, “and why did it feel so wrong in the end? We just didn’t understand.”

They soon discovered others who felt the same. Searching for Web sites about Scientology that are not sponsored by the church (an activity prohibited when they were in the Sea Org), they discovered that hundreds of other Scientologists were also defecting — including high-ranking executives who had served for decades. Fifty-six years after its founding by the science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986, the church is fighting off calls by former members for a Reformation. The defectors say Sea Org members were repeatedly beaten by the church’s chairman, David Miscavige, often during planning meetings; pressured to have abortions; forced to work without sleep on little pay; and held incommunicado if they wanted to leave. The church says the defectors are lying. The defectors say that the average Scientology member, known in the church as a public, is largely unaware of the abusive environment experienced by staff members. The church works hard to cultivate public members — especially celebrities like Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Nancy Cartwright (the voice of the cartoon scoundrel Bart Simpson) — whose money keeps it running.

But recently even some celebrities have begun to abandon the church, the most prominent of whom is the director and screenwriter Paul Haggis, who won Oscars for “Million Dollar Baby” and “Crash.” Mr. Haggis had been a member for 35 years. His resignation letter, leaked to a defectors’ Web site, recounted his indignation as he came to believe that the defectors’ accusations must be true. “These were not the claims made by ‘outsiders’ looking to dig up dirt against us,” Mr. Haggis wrote. “These accusations were made by top international executives who had devoted most of their lives to the church.” The church has responded to the bad publicity by denying the accusations and calling attention to a worldwide building campaign that showcases its wealth and industriousness. Last year, it built or renovated opulent Scientology churches, which it calls Ideal Orgs, in Rome; Malmo, Sweden; Dallas; Nashville; and Washington. And at its base here on the Gulf Coast of Florida, it continued buying hotels and office buildings (54 in all) and constructing a 380,000-square-foot mecca that looks like a convention center.

A man who moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career has revealed all about how he fell into Scientology. Steven Mango arrived in California as an aspiring actor, yet quickly became involved in what he refers to as “Hollywood’s most dangerous, secretive and famous cult”. As reported in News.com.au, Mr Mango created a documentary of his experiences. Delving into the world of Scientology, Mango drew attention to the alleged financial exploitation of members. According to Mango, he spent four years within the sect, during which he donated over $50,000 to the church. A religious movement that began in the 20th century, Scientology is a body of beliefs created by the science fiction writer L.Ron Hubbard. In 1953, it incorporated the Church of Scientology in Camden, New Jersey. Drawing in various high profile celebrities, scientology has come under criticism for exploiting members and taken their money.

In the documentary, Mango recalls how he spotted a newspaper advert in 2009, which promised to get aspiring actors a manager and auditions. Mr Mango saw it promised a book by L. Ron Hubbard, who he knew ran the church of Scientology. Wanting to find out more about the suspicious advert and intrigued by their “large celebrity following”, he approached the church. Straight away, they made in clear they wanted money. Mr Mango reveals they asked him if he has “investments” or “gold bullion” – before obtaining his social security number and other financial information. According to Mango, members of the church asked him to telephone his grandmother and ask her to donate £3200. This was just the first payment of the tens of thousands of dollars the actor had donated by the time he left.

A couple who won a Supreme Court challenge have got married in a Church of Scientology chapel in London. Louisa Hodkin started the legal action after officials refused to register the Church of Scientology chapel as a place for marriage for her and fiance Alessandro Calcioli. In December, five Supreme Court judges ruled the church was a “place of meeting for religious worship”. After the wedding, Mr Calcioli said he was “ecstatic” about the occasion. He added he was “a little bit speechless but just so, so happy that this day has finally come”. The couple emerged from the chapel at about 15:00 GMT.

Ms Hodkin said she was proud her victory had ended “inequality”. The chapel had initially been refused as a wedding venue due to a 1970 High Court ruling which said Scientology services were not “acts of worship”. Ms Hodkin had argued that the 1970 ruling should not be binding because Scientologist beliefs and services had evolved during the past four decades. She said services were “ones of religious worship” and likened Scientology to Buddhism and Jainism.

The UK supreme court’s decision that two Scientologists may marry in their own chapel because Scientology qualifies as a religion raises difficult questions. In particular, should the state have any view on whether religions are true? The question looks simple and I imagine most people would nowadays confidently reply “no”. Of course this often implies that the state does have a view on their truth – which is that they are all false. If the British constitution were itself a coherent body of doctrine, the answer would have to be that in some sense the state does believe that Anglican Christianity is true. Why else have a coronation? But the British constitution is only slightly more coherent at the moment than the idea of Britishness itself. So it’s not surprising that the law – in its own search for consistency – pulls away from tradition.

There are several obvious objections to Scientology, compared with more conventional religions. Its doctrine contains palpable falsehoods which have to be concealed from the non-paying public: it is not in fact true that we are the spiritual survivors of an ancient alien race. It has a well documented history of cult-like and manipulative behaviour. Critics are harassed in shameful ways. It is treated in many countries like an elaborate pyramid selling scheme and the reasons for this are obvious. But it is only the financial aspects that really cut it off from respectability. A comparison with Mormonism is illuminating here. No one disputes that Mormonism is a religion, yet their scriptures are clearly made up – semi-literate biblical fanfic – and the early history of the Mormon church is not a morally edifying story. Mormons tithe, too, which makes it an expensive commitment; and they keep secret the interior of their temples. The vital difference of principle is that Mormons are quite open about their doctrines. They do not charge for their enlightenments – in fact, some people would pay to be rid of them.

Leah Remini has confirmed that she’s left the Church of Scientology, and with that she joins a growing list of celebrities who have said goodbye to the religion created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Tom Cruise is the face of Scientology and he convinced Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes to join the church during his respective marriages to them. Of course neither marriage lasted, and Kidman and Holmes both left the church, with rumors it was the controversial religion that played a role in the demise of each relationship. Neither has commented on the rumors, and Kidman told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’ve chosen not to speak publicly about Scientology. I have two children [adopted with Cruise] who are Scientologists — Connor [17] and Isabella [20] — and I utterly respect their beliefs.”

Meanwhile, actress Nazanin Boniadi — the woman who was allegedly handpicked by the church to be Cruise’s girlfriend from November 2004 until January 2005 before running afoul of the religion’s leader David Miscavage — also left the church. Vanity Fair claims Boniadi’s decision to leave the church came after she was punished for her insubordination by having to scrub toilets with a toothbrush, clean bathroom tiles with acid and dig ditches in the middle of the night, and later was sent out to hawk Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics on street corners. Director Paul Haggis famously said goodbye to the church and Xenu — the dictator of the “Galactic Confederacy,” who according to the religion sent billions of frozen souls on spaceships from his overpopulated planet to the bases of volcanoes on Earth, which later were scattered into human bodies, giving them emotional issues — in 2009 with a scathing public letter.

Scientology claims that it has reformed and says it should be treated like any other church. But the Jesse Prince case and others continue to set this church apart.

You have to be courageous to publicly criticize the Church of Scientology. The organization recently proved — again — how far it will go to investigate, smear and intimidate critics.

Jesse Prince is one of those people the Church of Scientology perceives as an enemy because he is a vocal critic. A former Scientologist, Prince is expected to testify in an upcoming civil trial over the 1995 death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson, who died while in the care of church staffers in Clearwater.

It isn’t uncommon for one side in a lawsuit to attempt to discredit the testimony of the other side’s witnesses. But the Church of Scientology set out to destroy Jesse Prince.

The church’s lawyers hired several private investigators who watched Prince for months. They even searched for and found a black private investigator from Lake Wales who could unobtrusively follow Prince, who is black, into minority neighborhoods. Prince’s privacy was invaded by secret videotaping. The black private investigator, using a false name and identity, befriended an unsuspecting Prince and was invited into his home. That investigator later claimed he saw Prince smoke marijuana.

With that, the investigators appeared to have the evidence of “immoral or illegal” activities they had been instructed to find. But that wasn’t enough for the Church of Scientology. A church investigator took the information to the Largo Police Department, implying that Prince was a drug dealer. The department assigned an undercover officer, who visited Prince’s home with the black private eye. The officer found no evidence that Prince sold drugs, but saw a marijuana plant growing in a pot on Prince’s pool deck. Prince was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of cultivating marijuana.

But even that wasn’t enough for the Church of Scientology. An investigator working for the church called the Largo police detective and suggested other charges that could be filed against Prince. The Largo Police Department wasn’t smart to get involved in what was essentially a campaign of harassment against Prince by Scientology, but at least it drew the line at heaping on unwarranted charges. The cultivation charge was dropped Friday after a jury that heard the case was unable to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared.

An attorney for the Church of Scientology defended the practice of using private investigators to protect the organization from people who “harass” it. Interesting. Scientology doesn’t want to be criticized or harassed, but it doesn’t hesitate to harass and intimidate others.

Again and again in recent years, Scientology has claimed that it has reformed, that it no longer engages in the kind of underhanded or illegal behavior and smear tactics that have earned it a sorry reputation around the globe. Again and again, Scientology has argued that it is a religion and should be treated like any other church.

But again and again, stories surface that set Scientology apart. Not only does it have a penchant for secrecy, it will spend virtually unlimited time and money on pursuing, setting up and bringing down its critics.

BEFORE ME, personally appeared JESSE PRINCE, who, after being duly sworn,
deposes and says:
1. I am over 18 years of age and currently reside in the state of Illinois,
Cook County. This declaration is of my own personal knowledge and if called
upon to testify to the facts herein I could and would be competently able to
testify thereto.

My History in Scientology

2. I was in Scientology for 16 years (1976-92). In July of 1992, I
escaped with my wife from Scientology headquarters at Gilman Hotsprings, Ca.
Under duress, my wife and I were forced to return. After intense interrogation
and isolation, my wife and I on October 31, 1992, were able to leave
Scientology, but only after we were coerced to sign a release containing
untrue statements protecting Scientology from legal liability. I remained
silent about my experience in Scientology, since upon leaving I was subjected
to routine monitoring by Mike Sutter of the Religious Technology Center,
(RTC), and Earl Cooley, Scientology counsel. In July of 1998, I discovered
that others had similar experiences and were courageous enough to speak out
against Scientology. I therefore ended my silence so that others would know
about the truth of what really happens within the inner circles of
Scientology.

2. I am intimately familiar with the organization, movement, beliefs,
practices and technologies of Scientology. I served in the highest ranks of
Scientology, including second in command of the Religious Technology Center
(RTC), the most senior body of Scientology.

3. Beginning in March of 1983 and until the Spring of 1987, I held the
position of “Deputy Inspector General, External”. In this position, I was
one of three members of the Board of Directors of RTC while David Miscavige
was on its Board of Trustees.

4. In the position of “Deputy Inspector General, External”, I was in charge of
supervising all activities in every aspect of Scientology, i.e., supervising
senior management structure of the “mother church”, Church of Scientology
International, CSI. In the hierarchy of all of Scientology, I was only two
steps removed from L. Ron Hubbard. Mr. Hubbard gave his orders to David
Miscavige who in turn gave them to me to supervise, delegate and enforce
their execution. Corporately speaking, Vicki Aznaran, the President of RTC,
and I were accountable and reported only to David Miscavige and L. Ron
Hubbard. RTC gave CSI the license to use Dianetics and Scientology
technologies.

5. Moreover, I was in charge of theTrademark Integrity Secretary, (TMI Sec),
Jim Mooney, who had authority over the senior management of CSI called the
Watchdog Committee. This Committee has complete authority over the different
sectors of all of Scientology. The members of this committee are comprised of
senior management officials who oversee and control the management of the
following: FLAG SERVICE ORGANIZATION,(FSO); World Institute of Scientology
Enterprises, (WISE); Scientology Missions International,(SMI); Reserves, the
person responsible for the management and supervision of all bank accounts and
revenues; Golden Era Productions, (GOLD);Flag Land Base,(FLB); Sea Org, (SO);
Celebrity Center International, (CCInt); and Office of Special Affairs, (OSA),
which handles all the legal and intelligence functions of Scientology.

7. Some of my specific duties as Deputy Inspector General, External,
included supervising all litigation by or against any Scientology
organization, intelligence and covert operations brought against perceived or
imagined “enemies”, trademark registrations, and the licensing of trademarks
to other Scientology corporations to create the false impression of
“corporate integrity”. I was also in charge of the “Celeb Project,” which ran
all auditing of Scientology celebrities, such as John Travolta, Priscilla
Presley, Kirstie Alley, Anne Archer, and Chick Corea to name a few. I was
also the auditor for David Miscavige and his wife, Shelly. I was the course
instructor for all of the auditing courses for Alain Kartuzinski and his
Cramming Officer for Class 10, 11, and 12, 12 being the highest level an
auditor can reach.

6. I first became involved with Scientology in September, 1976, in San
Francisco. In late 1976, I joined the elite Scientology paramilitary
organization known as the Sea Organization, also known as the “Sea Org” or the
acronym “SO”. Sea Organization personnel are authorized to take over and
control Scientology organizations and to demote or promote personnel including
chief executives, move bank accounts, and run the corporation as if SO
personnel were employees or representatives of that corporation. The power
of the SO is not only over the purported religious Scientology organizations
but also prevails over the secular organizations such as WISE or Bridge
Publications. The Sea Org’s pervasive authority is possible because the only
personnel allowed into executive positions in these organizations are those
who are in full agreement that the Sea Organization is the commanding
organization.

7. Before I was recruited into the Religious Technology Center (RTC) in 1982,
most of my experience was with Scientology technical material; the actual
codified auditing and administrative techniques used within the organization.
This gave me considerable time to become familiar with these technical
materials, most of which was written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
My knowlege and expertise of the technologies prompted my promotion to a
technical position at RTC.

8. In the fall of 1982, L. Ron Hubbard issued an order to find the best
Supervisor/Cramming Officer in all of Scientology and bring that person to
Golden Era Productions (GOLD) to correct and train the senior executive
management structure of the Scientology empire all around the world. A
Supervisor in Scientology is analogous to a teacher in a class room. A
Cramming Officer is responsible for the correction of individuals who have
difficulty in executing the techniques of Dianetics and Scientology or
otherwise following the dogma of L. Ron Hubbard to the letter. Mike Eldridge,
a personal emissary of L. Ron Hubbard, in charge of conducting the search to
find the most qualified person to serve as Supervisor/Cramming Officer,
recommended me to David Miscavige, who ultimately approved my appointment. I was transferred to, lived and worked at what is known as “Golden Era Studios,” near Hemet, California. It is also known as “Gold” or simply “The Base”, where senior management of Scientology is headquartered.

9. By Scientology standards, I was a very highly trained auditor and case
supervisor. An auditor in Scientology is a trained practitioner of the pseudo
scientific methodology of psychological counseling commonly referred to as
“The Tech,” as dictated and written by Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard. A
case supervisor is also a trained auditor who reads the “auditing” records of
every counseling session performed by an auditor to ensure “The Tech” was
applied exactly. In Scientology there are 12 levels of auditor and case
supervisor classification, each level being “higher” than the next. In this
system, I was certified as a Class 9 Auditor and a certified Class 9 Case
Supervisor.

10. In my capacity as Deputy Inspector General, External, I traveled about the
U.S. and outside of the U.S. on behalf of RTC. I traveled to Germany, Italy,
Australia, United Kingdom, Denmark, Mexico and Canada. These trips were
designed to put together an infrastructure that would interface with RTC for
the purpose of trademark enforcement. I was personally chosen by David
Miscavige over Vicki Aznaran to speak on behalf of RTC to a worldwide audience
via satellite to warn them that RTC holds the trademarks of Scientology and
eradicates all those who violate “The Tech” or infringe on trademarks.

11. I became familiar with the trademark laws of the various countries in
which I traveled. I interviewed and retained law firms, and put personnel in
place that would report to RTC and be our site representatives. I testified
as an expert witness on Scientology technology on behalf of RTC in federal
court in Los Angeles in a RICO action with RTC as the plaintiff in 1985. In
1983, on orders from L. Ron Hubbard, I brought into existence within RTC a
unit called “The Tech Unit”. The Tech Unit had the responsibility of
inspecting PC files a/k/a Pre-Clear files, (counseling files), in all
Scientology organizations to ensure “The Tech” was being applied 100%
according to the standard tech…….44. Based on my personal experience and expertise in Scientology, I have formed the following opinion: Lisa McPherson was held against her will in Isolation and when she did not respond to Scientology technical handling, FLAG, on orders from David Miscavige, Ray Mithoff, and Marty Rathbun sat mute and watched her die after she no longer had the strength to fight for her freedom. Her death was no accident. It was the chosen option to minimize a public relations flap.

45. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of
Florida that the foregoing is true and correct.

A teenager is facing prosecution for using the word “cult” to describe the Church of Scientology. The unnamed 15-year-old was served the summons by City of London police when he took part in a peaceful demonstration opposite the London headquarters of the controversial religion. Officers confiscated a placard with the word “cult” on it from the youth, who is under 18, and a case file has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service. A date has not yet been set for him to appear in court. The decision to issue the summons has angered human rights activists and support groups for the victims of cults.The incident happened during a protest against the Church of Scientology on May 10.

Demonstrators from the anti-Scientology group, Anonymous, who were outside the church’s £23m headquarters near St Paul’s cathedral, were banned by police from describing Scientology as a cult by police because it was “abusive and insulting”. Writing on an anti-Scientology website, the teenager facing court said: “I brought a sign to the May 10th protest that said: ‘Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult.’ “‘Within five minutes of arriving I was told by a member of the police that I was not allowed to use that word, and that the final decision would be made by the inspector.” A policewoman later read him section five of the Public Order Act and “strongly advised” him to remove the sign. The section prohibits signs which have representations or words which are threatening, abusive or insulting. The teenager refused to back down, quoting a 1984 high court ruling from Mr Justice Latey, in which he described the Church of Scientology as a “cult” which was “corrupt, sinister and dangerous”.

After criminalising the use of the word ‘cult’, perhaps the next step is to ban the words ‘war’ and ‘tax’ from peaceful demonstrations?” Ian Haworth, from the Cult Information Centre which provides advice for victims of cults and their families, said: “This is an extraordinary situation. If it wasn’t so serious it would be farcical. The police’s job is to protect and serve. Who is being served and who is being protected in this situation? I find it very worrying. Scientology is well known to my organisation, and has been of great concern to me for 22 years. I get many calls from families with loved ones involved and ex-members who are in need of one form of help.” The City of London police came under fire two years ago when it emerged that more than 20 officers, ranging from constable to chief superintendent, had accepted gifts worth thousands of pounds from the Church of Scientology.

The City of London Chief Superintendent, Kevin Hurley, praised Scientology for “raising the spiritual wealth of society” during the opening of its headquarters in 2006. Last year a video praising Scientology emerged featuring Ken Stewart, another of the City of London’s chief superintendents, although he is not a member of the group. The group was founded by the science-fiction writer L Ron Hubbard in 1952 and espouses the idea that humans are descended from an exiled race of aliens called Thetans. The church continues to attract controversy over claims that it separates members from their families and indoctrinates followers. A spokeswoman for the force said today: “City of London police had received complaints about demonstrators using the words ‘cult’ and ‘Scientology kills’ during protests against the Church of Scientology.

“Following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service some demonstrators were warned verbally and in writing that their signs breached section five of the Public Order Act. “One demonstrator continued to display a placard despite police warnings and was reported for an offence under section five. A file on the case will go to the CPS.” A CPS spokesman said no specific advice was given to police regarding the boy’s placard.

A teenager who was facing legal action for calling the Church of Scientology a cult has today been told he will not be taken to court. The Crown Prosecution Service ruled the word was neither “abusive or insulting” to the church and no further action would be taken against the boy. The unnamed 16-year-old was handed a court summons by City of London police for refusing to put down a placard saying “Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult” during a peaceful protest outside the church’s headquarters near St Paul’s Cathedral earlier this month. Police said they had “strongly advised” him to stop displaying the sign but he refused, citing a high court judgment from 1984 in which the organisation was described as a cult.

The summons was issued under the Public Order Act on the grounds that the sign incited religious hatred. A file was passed to the CPS, which today told City of London police it would not be pursuing the boy through the courts. A spokeswoman for the force said: “The CPS review of the case includes advice on what action or behaviour at a demonstration might be considered to be threatening, abusive or insulting. “The force’s policing of future demonstrations will reflect this advice.” A CPS spokesman said: “In consultation with the City of London police, we were asked whether the sign, which read ‘Scientology is not a religion it is a dangerous cult’, was abusive or insulting. “Our advice is that it is not abusive or insulting and there is no offensiveness, as opposed to criticism, neither in the idea expressed nor in the mode of expression. No action will be taken against the individual.” The teenager’s mother said the decision was “a victory for free speech”.

In 2007, while investigating the Church of Scientology for Panorama, reporter John Sweeney had a dramatic on-camera confrontation with a church spokesman named Tommy Davis. The church was accusing the reporter of bias and it attempted to stop the documentary from being broadcast – a campaign backed by Scientology A-lister John Travolta. Sweeney has returned to investigate the church again.

I never meant to shout. Strangers had been on my tail. Scientologist Tommy Davis and his colleague Mike Rinder – my handlers – had been on my case, day in and day out. They had taken me to an exhibit called ‘Psychiatry: Industry of Death’ on Hollywood Boulevard, where a Scientologist told me psychiatrists set up the Holocaust. I feared I was being brain-washed. And then I lost it – big time. The Church of Scientology put out my impression of an exploding tomato onto the internet which millions had a laugh at courtesy of YouTube. It was no way for me to behave. I apologised then and I apologise now. Shortly after that programme, Scientology & Me, aired in 2007, I received a tip-off that Mike Rinder had left the church.

Three years on and my old adversary came to me to shed some light on what had been going on behind the scenes in the days leading up to my infamous meltdown and screaming session in Los Angeles. Now an independent Scientologist, Mike is critical of the church and of its leader David Miscavige, who was actor Tom Cruise’s best man at his wedding to Katie Holmes. Mike, 55, wanted to meet and talk about his life in the church, which he was a part of from the age of six.

He began by telling me about the moment when he decided to get out: “I knew as I was walking out – that was the last time I would ever talk to my wife, my children, the rest of my family. I couldn’t take it anymore. When I left I felt I had been freed.” Mike was subjected to what the church calls disconnection. His wife, daughter, son, brother and mother have cut him out of their lives. Mike was one of a number of people we met who effectively grew up in the church and have since left. Those who speak out say they can be deemed by the church to be enemies and subjected to disconnection – when all ties to family and friends are severed.

The church acknowledges some Scientologists choose to sever communications with family members who leave. The church says it is a fundamental human right to cease communication with someone. It adds disconnection is used against expelled members and those who attack the church. During our investigation in 2007, black SUVs with tinted windows appeared to be following our team as we carried out interviews. A mystery man who we suspected was from the church also appeared to be keeping tabs on us at breakfast in our LA hotel each morning.

At the time, I put my suspicions of being under surveillance to Tommy Davis. He responded: “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It seems to me you’re getting a bit paranoid.” Mike Rinder has since given me a different answer. “Was I being paranoid?” I asked him when we met again. “No, you were being followed. No doubt whatsoever,” he told me. Mike said he should know as it was he and Tommy Davis who were doing some of the covert surveillance. Mike said he and Tommy were reporting back on our movements to David Miscavige’s office every few minutes or so. Through its UK lawyers, the firm Carter-Ruck, the church deny spying on us and reject Mike Rinder’s version of events dating back to 2007.

The public face of the church is as a force for good, perhaps most familiar to the public for their offers of free stress tests at their shopfront centres in major cities. Its star members include Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and Juliette Lewis. When I interviewed Alley in 2007 and put the question to her that many believe Scientology to be a sinister brain-washing cult, she replied: “Would you ever sit with a Jew and tell them that their religion is a cult?”

When I asked the same question of Juliette Lewis, star of the film Natural Born Killers, she replied: “Some people say women are really stupid and shouldn’t have the vote.”The church said it is a religion and is recognised as such in America for tax purposes. It denies emphatically that it is a cult and has maintained that I am biased. Many ex-Scientologists disagree with the celebrities who defend the church. Amy Scobee, now in her mid-40s, is a former member who said she believes it is “a dangerous cult”. She was a member from the age of 14, much of her time in the church was spent as part of what is known as the Sea Org – the highly-disciplined wing that effectively runs the church’s day to day operations.

When Ms Scobee left and began to criticise David Miscavige and the church intimate details of her sex life before she was married leaked to the St Petersburg Times in Florida newspaper. The church admits sending the newspaper material about Ms Scobee’s sex life, but said it was acceptable because the information was contained in an affidavit signed by her. They say it was not confidential.

Ms Scobee said she had disclosed those details but she believed they would remain confidential. During our time in America for the latest Panorama, we were once again followed by people filming us, this time more openly than before. When we approached the people with cameras to ask them who they were with and what they were doing, they refused to answer our questions. That is why I was somewhat grateful to Scientology’s UK lawyers at Carter-Ruck when they sent the BBC photographs of me hugging Amy Scobee at the end of a long and at times harrowing series of interviews about her experiences.

The photographs were meant to demonstrate to my bosses at the BBC, once again, that I must be biased against the church as I was overly familiar with its critics. This was, oddly enough, welcome proof that the people who had been following and filming us in the States were indeed working for the Church of Scientology. As Mike Rinder had said, I was not being paranoid – I was being followed.came to me to shed some light on what had been going on behind the scenes in the days leading up to my infamous meltdown and screaming session in Los Angeles. Now an independent Scientologist, Mike is critical of the church and of its leader David Miscavige, who was actor Tom Cruise’s best man at his wedding to Katie Holmes. Mike, 55, wanted to meet and talk about his life in the church, which he was a part of from the age of six.

He began by telling me about the moment when he decided to get out: “I knew as I was walking out – that was the last time I would ever talk to my wife, my children, the rest of my family. I couldn’t take it anymore. When I left I felt I had been freed.” Mike was subjected to what the church calls disconnection. His wife, daughter, son, brother and mother have cut him out of their lives. Mike was one of a number of people we met who effectively grew up in the church and have since left. Those who speak out say they can be deemed by the church to be enemies and subjected to disconnection – when all ties to family and friends are severed.